5.  The applicants were born in 1961 and 1984, respectively. They live in the village of Sernovodsk, in the Sunzhenskiy District, the Chechen Republic.
6.  The first applicant is the mother and the second applicant is the wife of Mr Salambek Alapayev, born in 1982.
7.  At the material time the first applicant, Salambek Alapayev, the second applicant and their son, and Salman Alapayev (Salambek Alapayev's 75-year old grandfather, now deceased) lived together at 24, Demiyana Bednogo Street, in the village of Sernovodsk, in the Sunzhenskiy District, the Chechen Republic.
8.  Salambek Alapayev was employed in a private company trading in medical equipment, “Med-Intel”, until November 2004. The company's seat was in Nalchik, in the Kabardino-Balkariya Republic.
9.  On the night of 26 December 2004 the family, except the first applicant, who was attending funerals in another village, was sleeping in their house at the above address. At about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 the second applicant and Salambek Alapayev were woken up by a noise coming from the front door. A group of eight to twelve armed men in camouflage uniforms burst into the house. They were not wearing masks and were speaking Russian. They neither introduced themselves nor presented any documents. The second applicant inferred that they were servicemen.
10.  Three servicemen started kicking Salman Alapayev, while four others grabbed Salambek Alapayev and started beating him with rifle-butts and their boots. The servicemen ordered the second applicant to stay in her room; two of them guarded her. From there the applicant heard the sound of her husband being beaten and begged the servicemen to stop. She also heard the intruders binding Salambek Alapayev's hands with adhesive tape. The servicemen ordered the second applicant to fetch her husband's passport. When she brought it over, together with his driving licence, they took it away. After that the servicemen conducted a quick search of the house. They did not provide any explanation for their actions or reply to her questions as to where and why they were taking her husband.
11.  Having spent a short time in the applicant's house, the intruders went outside, dragging Salambek Alapayev, bound and barefoot, with them. Despite the servicemen's orders, the second applicant followed them outside. At the front door she saw Salman Alapayev lying on the ground. He was bleeding and unconscious. At the entrance to the house the servicemen had left the claw hammer with which they had taken the door off its hinges. Outside the second applicant saw the servicemen leave with Salambek Alapayev in a grey UAZ vehicle and a white Gazel vehicle. The abductors' vehicles passed through the roadblock located at the exit from the village to the Baku motorway.
12.  A number of neighbours witnessed the abduction of Salambek Alapayev. In particular, at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 L.U. and M.T. saw an APC (armoured personnel carrier) and other vehicles stop at the applicants' house. Both women heard screaming and noise coming from the house, and people speaking Russian. At about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 Kh.Kh., who was at her grandmother's house at 22, Demyana Bednogo Street, and Zul.A., another neighbour, were woken up by noise coming from the applicants' house. When they rushed outside, they saw Salambek Alapayev, being taken away tied up and barefoot by unidentified persons. The abductors had several vehicles, including a grey UAZ vehicle and a white Gazel vehicle. The applicants' neighbour Zur.A., who was woken up at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 by noise coming from the applicants' house, tried to go outside but was prevented from doing so by several armed men in camouflage uniforms and masks who ordered her to get back inside her house.
13.  Shortly after the armed men had left, the neighbours gathered at the applicants' house. There they saw that the front door had been forced and that Salman Alapayev was lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Zal.A. and Z.B. immediately went to the local department of the interior and alerted the police officers about the abduction of Salambek Alapayev. The servicemen on duty at the entry to the ROVD told them that their vehicles had not left for any operations on that night and that no one had been brought to the ROVD. At the women's request the servicemen called the Achkhoy-Martanovskiy District Department of the Interior. The latter body informed them that they had no relevant information.
14.  The applicants have had no news of Salambek Alapayev since 27 December 2004.
15.  The above description of the events is based on written statements by the first and second applicants made on 5 February and 1 March 2006 respectively; interview transcripts of the first and second applicants' interviews by their representatives, conducted on 20 February and 11 May 2005 respectively; written statements by Zul.A., Zal.A., Zur.A. and Z.B., made on 4 February 2006, and written statements by L.U., M.T. and Kh.Kh., made on 5 February 2006.
16.  The Government submitted that on the night of 27 December 2004 unidentified persons wearing camouflage uniforms had abducted Salambek Alapayev from his house at 24, Demyana Bednogo Street, Sernovodsk, and had taken him to an unknown destination.
17.  Since 27 December 2004 the applicants have repeatedly applied in person and in writing to various public bodies. They have been supported in their efforts by the NGO SRJI. In their letters to the authorities the applicants referred to their relative's abduction and asked for assistance and details of the investigation. These enquiries mostly remained unanswered, or purely formal replies were given stating that the applicants' requests had been forwarded to various prosecutors' offices. The applicants submitted some of the letters to the authorities and the replies to the Court, which are summarised below.
18.  On 28 December 2004 investigators of the Sunzhenskiy District Department of the Interior (the ROVD) arrived at the applicants' house. They conducted a crime scene examination and seized the claw hammer left by the abductors.
19.  On the same day the first applicant complained about the abduction of Salambek Alapayev to the Security Council of the President of the Chechen Republic.
20.  On 30 December 2004 the prosecutor's office of the Chechen Republic (“the republican prosecutor's office”) forwarded the first applicant's complaint about her son's abduction to the Achkhoy-Martanovskiy district prosecutor's office (“the district prosecutor's office”) for examination.
21.  On 30 December 2004 the district prosecutor's office instituted an investigation into the abduction of Salambek Alapayev under Article 126 § 2 of the Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The criminal case file was given number 59000.
22.  On 16 February 2005 the first applicant wrote to the district prosecutor's office. In her letter she described in detail the circumstances of her son's abduction by a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms. She also stated that the abductors, who had arrived in military vehicles, had beaten her relatives and refused to provide any reasons for her son's apprehension. The applicant also pointed out that on the night of the abduction a number of her neighbours had witnessed the vehicles pulling up to her house and leaving with Salambek Alapayev. Lastly, she stated that her numerous complaints to various law enforcement authorities had failed to produce any results.
23.  On 26 March 2005 the first applicant wrote to the prosecutor of the Chechen Republic. She described in detail the circumstances of her son's abduction by a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms, who had arrived in military vehicles, had beaten her relatives and refused to provide the reason for her son's apprehension. The applicant also pointed out that on the night of the events a number of her neighbours had witnessed the vehicles pulling up to her house and leaving with Salambek Alapayev. She further stated that while her son had been working in Nazran, the flat of colleagues of his in that town had been robbed. Salambek Alapayev had allegedly told the first applicant that he had succeeded in obtaining some unspecified information on that incident. The first applicant suggested that that information might have been relevant for the investigation. Lastly, she stated that her numerous complaints to various law enforcement bodies had failed to produce any results.
24.  On 17 June 2005 the republican prosecutor's office forwarded the first applicant's complaint about her son's abduction to the district prosecutor's office for inclusion in criminal case no. 59000.
25.  On 30 June 2005 the Chechen department of the Federal Security Service (“the Chechen department of the FSB”) replied to the first applicant's request. The letter stated that they were undertaking unspecified measures to identify Salambek Alapayev's abductors and establish his whereabouts.
26.  On 8 July 2005 the first applicant wrote to the Chechen department of the FSB. She described in detail the circumstances of her son's abduction by a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms. She also stated that the abductors, who had arrived in military vehicles, had beaten her relatives and refused to provide the reason for her son's apprehension. The applicant also pointed out that on the night of the events a number of her neighbours had witnessed the vehicles pulling up to her house and leaving with Salambek Alapayev. Lastly, the applicant stated that her numerous complaints to various law enforcement bodies had not produced any results.
27.  On 9 July 2005 the Chechen department of the FSB replied to the first applicant that her complaint about her son's abduction had been forwarded to the district prosecutor's office for examination.
28.  On 16 July 2005 the republican prosecutor's office informed the first applicant that her complaint to the Chechen department of the FSB had been included in the criminal case file. The letter also stated that operational-search measures aimed at solving the crime were under way.
29.  On 3 August 2005 the first applicant wrote to the district prosecutor's office. She described in detail the circumstances of her son's abduction by a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms. She also stated that the abductors, who had arrived in military vehicles, had beaten her relatives and refused to provide the reason for her son's apprehension. The applicant also pointed out that on the night of the events a number of her neighbours had witnessed the vehicles pulling up to her house and leaving with Salambek Alapayev. Finally, the applicant stated that her numerous complaints to various law enforcement bodies had failed to produce any results.
30.  On 14 October 2005 the applicants' representatives wrote to the district prosecutor's office. They requested information on the progress and the results of the investigation in criminal case no. 59000 and the investigative measures undertaken by the authorities. They also asked that the first applicant be granted the status of a victim in the criminal proceedings and be allowed to familiarise herself with the case file.
31.  On 29 December 2005 the applicants' representatives filed a repeated request to the district prosecutor's office. They asked for information concerning the progress and the results of the investigation in criminal case no. 59000 and the investigative measures undertaken by the authorities. They also requested the authorities to grant the first applicant the status of a victim in the criminal proceedings and to provide for her access to the case file.
32.  On 11 January 2006 the district prosecutor's office granted the first applicant victim status in connection with the proceedings in criminal case no. 59000.
33.  On 2 February 2006 the first applicant wrote to the prosecutor of the Chechen Republic. She again described in detail the circumstances of her son's abduction and the ill-treatment of her relatives by the abductors.
34.  On 13 February 2006 the republican prosecutor's office forwarded the first applicant's complaint to the district prosecutor's office for examination.
35.  On 28 February 2006 the republican prosecutor's office informed the first applicant that on an unspecified date the investigation in criminal case no. 59000 had been suspended.
36.  On 1 March 2006 the district prosecutor's office informed the first applicant that their investigative measures had failed to establish the whereabouts of her son, but that operational-search measures aimed at solving the crime were under way.
37.  On 17 January 2007 the first applicant complained to the district prosecutor's office about the unlawfulness of the suspension of the investigation in criminal case no. 59000. She requested the authorities to undertake additional investigative measures to establish the whereabouts of Salambek Alapayev.
38.  On 20 January 2007 the district prosecutor's office replied to the applicant, stating that they had allowed her complaint in full and decided to resume the investigation in criminal case no. 59000.
39.  On 28 February 2007 the district prosecutor's office informed the second applicant that on 28 February 2007 the investigation in criminal case no. 59000 had been suspended owing to the failure to establish the perpetrators.
40.  On 9 July 2007 the Achkhoy-Martan district department of the Federal Security Service informed the first applicant that her complaint about her son's abduction had been forwarded to the district prosecutor's office for examination.
41.  Following the second applicant's complaint to the ROVD, on an unspecified date the district prosecutor's office instituted an investigation into the abduction of Salambek Alapayev under Article 126 § 2 of the Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was given the number 59000.
42.  On 27 December 2004 an investigator of the ROVD examined the crime scene and seized the claw hammer left by the abductors. The claw hammer was appended to the criminal case file materials.
(a)  Witnesses interviewed by the investigators
43.  On 27 December 2004 an investigator of the ROVD took a written statement from the second applicant. She stated that at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 she had been woken up by a noise coming from the front door. Shortly after she had sent Salambek Alapayev to check what was going on, a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms and without masks had burst into the room. Having pushed the second applicant aside, they had grabbed Salambek Alapayev and started beating him up. They had tied him up with adhesive tape and dragged him outside, where several vehicles had been parked. The second applicant had been able to describe two of them from memory – a grey UAZ vehicle and a white Gazel vehicle. The armed men had left in those vehicles, taking Salambek Alapayev with them.
44.  On the same date the investigator collected written statements from the applicants' neighbours, A.B., Z.B. and M.K. According to an incomplete and partly illegible copy of A.B.'s statement, he had not witnessed the abduction but had heard that the abductors had come in several military vehicles, including a UAZ vehicle. According to Z.B.'s statement, at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 she had heard noise coming from the applicants' house; after a while the second applicant had run to her to tell her that Salambek Alapayev had been abducted. M.K. gave a similar statement.
45.  On 6 February 2005 an investigator of the ROVD interviewed as witnesses the first applicant and her neighbour L.U. The first applicant stated that upon her return on 27 December 2004 from funerals in another village the second applicant had told her that at about 3 a.m. on the previous night a group of eight to ten armed men in camouflage uniforms had forced the front door to their house, had tied Salambek Alapayev up with adhesive tape and had taken him away, leaving in several vehicles. According to a copy of L.U.'s interview record, at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 she had been woken up by the noise of vehicles moving on her street. Having looked outside the window, L.U. had seen a white Gazel vehicle and an APC, which had stopped outside her house for a while and had then moved on. The men inside the vehicles had spoken Russian. L.U. had inferred that they were soldiers. The vehicles had left some fifteen minutes later and L.U. had subsequently learnt that those soldiers had abducted Salambek Alapayev.
46.  By a decision of 11 February 2005 the district prosecutor's office granted the second applicant victim status in connection with the proceedings in case no. 59000 and interviewed her. According to a barely legible copy of the interview record, the second applicant submitted that at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 a group of armed men in camouflage uniforms had burst into their house, had beaten her husband up, tied him up with adhesive tape, taken his identity card and taken him away. The abductors had come in a white Gazel vehicle, a grey UAZ vehicle and an APC, none of which had registration plates.
47.  Between 15 January and 22 February 2005 an investigator of the district prosecutor's office interviewed as witnesses several residents of Sernovodsk. Insofar as the barely legible copies of the relevant interview records may be deciphered, those witnesses stated that they had not witnessed the abduction but had learnt from their fellow villagers that at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 a group of about ten armed men speaking Russian and driving a white Gazel, a grey UAZ vehicle and an APC without licence plates had abducted Salambek Alapayev from his home at 24, Demyana Bednogo Street.
48.  On 24 February 2005 the prosecutor's office of the town of Nalchik interviewed as witnesses R.D. and Z.N., a deputy director and a personnel manager of the company “Med-Intel”, where Salambek Alapayev had been employed. R.D. and Z.N. stated that the applicants' relative had been employed in that company as a sales manager and that he had not had any conflicts at work.
49.  Between 11 February and 9 April 2005 investigators of the ROVD and the district prosecutor's office interviewed as witnesses a number of residents of Sernovodsk. According to copies of the witness' interviews and in so far as those copies are legible, the witnesses submitted that they had not witnessed the abduction of the applicants' relative but had learnt on 27 and 28 December 2004 from their fellow villagers that at about 3 a.m. on 27 December 2004 a group of eight to ten armed men in camouflage uniforms, who had arrived in a grey UAZ vehicle, a white Gazel vehicle and an APC without licence plates, had abducted Salambek Alapayev from his home at 24, Demyana Bednogo Street in Sernovodsk.
50.  Between 31 January and 11 February 2007 the district prosecutor's office interviewed as witnesses other residents of Sernovodsk. According to copies of their interview records, on 27 December 2004 the witnesses had learnt from their fellow villagers and Salambek Alapayev's relatives that on the previous night a group of eight to twelve armed men in camouflage uniforms had burst into the applicants' house. The intruders had been speaking Russian. They had not introduced themselves and had taken Salambek Alapayev to an unknown destination. The armed men had arrived in a grey UAZ vehicle, a white Gazel vehicle and an APC.
(b)  Further investigative steps
51.  On unspecified dates unspecified authorities inspected checkpoints nos. 186, 188 and 190; no objects were seized during the inspection.
52.  On unspecified dates the investigating authorities instructed their colleagues in the Chechen Republic and several other regions in Russia to verify whether officers of any law-enforcement authorities had arrested Salambek Alapayev or remanded him in custody or whether his body had been discovered. No relevant information was received as a result of those investigative steps.
53.  On unspecified dates the investigating authorities requested various authorities, including the prosecutor of military unit no. 20102 and the military commander of the Achkhoy-Martanovskiy District, to inform them if any special operations had been conducted in Sernovodsk on 26-27 April 2004 and whether Salambek Alapayev had been detained by any law-enforcement authorities under their command. No relevant information was received.
54.  On 20 January 2007 the district prosecutor's office granted the first applicant's request and resumed the investigation in case no. 59000.
55.  According to the Government, the investigation into the abduction of the applicants' relative was pending.
(c)  The Court's request for a copy of case file no. 59000
56.  Despite specific requests by the Court the Government did not disclose most of the contents of criminal case no. 59000, providing only a copy of the crime scene inspection report, a decision to grant the second applicant victim status and copies of the witness' interview records summarised in paragraphs 43-50 above. Most of the documents furnished by the Government were either partly or fully illegible. The Government submitted that the investigation was in progress and that disclosure of the documents would be in violation of Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and would run counter to the interests of unidentified participants in the criminal proceedings.
(d)  Documents from the case file concerning the robbery of Salambek Alapayev's colleagues
57.  The Government furnished copies of interview records of victims and witnesses in criminal case no. 33706 opened into the robbery of Salambek Alapayev's colleagues from the company “Med-Intel” in Nazran, Ingushetiya. From those documents it follows that on 29 November 2004 two armed persons wearing camouflage uniforms without insignia and masks had burst into the flat rented by S.D. and A.T. and had taken their money, personal belongings and their car.